As the Zambezi River begins to gradually recede, authorities and humanitarian agencies are wary of impending food shortages and disease outbreaks following the burst of Zambezi River banks which caused flooding in the Namibian Caprivi flood plains. The floods have so far displaced about 15 000 people, some of whom are staying in temporary camps set up by the government with the help of the Namibia Red Cross Society.

Namibia Red Cross society, with the support of the International Federation of Red and Red Crescent societies, is targeting 3,000 most affected households in four relocation sites for six months. Most of the affected communities have lost their crops and are not expecting any harvest.

In a Regional Emergency Management Unit (REMU) meeting held last Friday, there were serious indications that most of the crops in the low lying areas such as Muyako in Katima rural constituency in the Caprivi region wilted due to drought or were flooded beyond redemption. The majority of the people have lost their source of livelihood including their livestock. This signals the beginning of another bad chapter in the lives of the Caprivians as most of them were just about to start 'eating' from their fields.

"We hope the water goes down soon so that we can go back to our homes," says Joyce Kamwe. "We are aware that all our crops were destroyed but we can start fishing and raise money to buy food for the family." But Joyce and many others may have to wait for another five months before they can go back to their homes as the situation along the Zambezi River is only expected to normalize around August or September. The government is currently providing emergency food aid to each family every two weeks.

In Katima rural communities, some people have complained of diarrhoea and malaria cases according to REMU technical team that visited the area. Caprivi region is general a high malaria risk area.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent launched an emergency appeal seeking USD 721,623 (€ 542,555) in cash, kind, or services to assist 15,000 beneficiaries (3,000 families) for six months part of which is meant to provide 3,000 mosquito nets to children under five years and pregnant mothers.

"Due to limited resources we have been able to distribute only over 250 mosquito nets to children under five years of age and pregnant mothers," says Tamuka Chitemere, the International Federation disaster technical manager. "We will monitor the situation while we continue with our relief operations," She adds.

Schuckmansburg, an island with usually about 85 families now has 254 households who relocated from their flooding areas, still remains a major challenge. The island is too small for such a large population. Challenges include accessibility, access to clean safe water and sanitation and health.

"Some people in Schuckmansburg are sleeping in the open and we are planning to carry out water and sanitation, shelter, hygiene promotion activities and distribution of non-food items," says Polly Helmut, the Red Cross manager in the Caprivi region. "As soon as we get the means to access this area, the Red Cross with the support of the government should be able to start providing help to the affected people." Services have been provided only sporadically for the past four weeks due to transport challenges.

The Caprivi floods did not receive adequate attention as it happened at a time when Mozambique was also experiencing flooding and cyclone disasters. But the Red Cross believes that the situation in the Caprivi region is very serious and needs urgent attention. "Having more than 15, 000 people displaced is a huge challenge which requires urgent attention to ensure that the situation is kept under control, but the Red Cross needs resources to achieve that," says Mrs. Razia Essack-Kauaria, the Secretary General of Namibia Red Cross.

Though this is not the first time that Caprivi has experienced flooding, this has come earlier than expected and there are fears that with more rains to come, the situation may deteriorate further compounding the food security and the health situation in the camps.

Floods have increasingly become recurrent especially along the main Zambezi river valley which stretches from the Angola to Mozambique. The Meteorological departments have warned that there could be more rains in March and April which may worsen the situation. The Zambezi river is also causing widespread flooding in Zambia and left some 300 000 people in need of urgent assistance.